Choosing your kitchen design from the multitude of kitchen decorating ideas that abound can be an incredible experience into the insight of kitchen manufacturers. It is totally amazing exactly how many kitchen designs are sold on the retail market and even more of a surprise which ones are the most popular. Spend an afternoon in one of the many retail outlets that sell kitchens and listen in on the various conversations around you. People home in on the ultra-modern kitchens like flies round a honey pot but, as the conversation progresses, you hear them admit to not being able to live with such a design on a daily basis, eventually plumping for a more modest middle-of-the-road design, or even one of the many rustic designs. Kitchen decorating ideas naturally need to take into account the kind of kitchen furnishings you have installed - you couldn't imagine a Belfast sink in one of those modern glass and stainless steel kitchens anymore than you could imagine a high-tech sink in a totally rustic setting.

Pick the right kitchen decorating ideas in accordance with your fitments which, when decorating generally, would already have been installed and are generally expensive enough to remain in situ each time you feel the need to re-decorate your kitchen. Another factor that needs to be considered, when thinking through your kitchen decorating ideas, is the size of your kitchen. Size and function do tend to go hand-in-hand. If you have a spacious kitchen you are more likely to use it as a centre for the family to congregate than if you your kitchen is one of the tiny, galley styles. Size does need to be taken into account: the kitchen may have the reputation of being the heart of the home but that was generally in the days when kitchens were large enough to accommodate the heart of the home, with a central table for the family to spend time around.

Modern homes are often much too small for kitchens of this size unless, of course, it is a kitchen diner - in which case, the decor of your kitchen decorating ideas need to take that into account. There is often a lot of actual wasted space in a large kitchen, requiring the person who uses the kitchen on a daily basis to cover a considerable distance between cooker, sink and work surfaces. This is often not particularly conducive to the most efficient use of a person's time. Reducing this 'working triangle', as it is called, is one of the more fundamental aspects of good kitchen planning and something that also needs to be factored into any kitchen decorating ideas. This has led to the innovative kitchen island which sits in the centre of the kitchen and often houses the sink, work surfaces and usually the hob.

Appliances that tend to be used frequently are then free to stand on the surrounding work surfaces, brought onto the central island when they need to be used. Not everybody, however, is blessed with a kitchen large enough to accommodate a kitchen island. In smaller houses the galley kitchen is the norm and, again, the 'working triangle' needs to be taken into account when implementing suitable kitchen decorating ideas. In most galley kitchens the hob is along one wall with the sink directly opposite and work surfaces either side of both hob and sink. This means the main working area is the triangle within the centre of the kitchen. In Western kitchens, regardless of the level of cooking skills the kitchen user has, each kitchen houses very similar appliances. There are certain items that are found in all kitchens, such as washing machine, fridge, cooker - either fitted or free-standing - sink unit and fitted cupboards with work surfaces built-in.

Most kitchens, regardless of size, find room for a dishwasher, even if it is only a table-top size. Juicers, slow cookers, deep fat fryers and pressure cookers are the norm in most homes - as are food processors, coffee grinders and coffee machines of one sort or another. Breadmakers and microwaves are also common acquisitions. The problem arises in where to house these movable appliances and sufficient cupboard space needs to be given over to store these items. This has led to the majority of Western kitchens now being fully fitted with wall cupboards as well as base units, inevitably reducing the need for too many alterations in the way of kitchen decorating ideas - especially as the gap between the wall units and the base units are usually tiled. This leaves the opportunities for kitchen decorating ideas rather limited unless you are starting from scratch completely. However, for those of you who are putting together a brand new kitchen, you need to be extremely careful about choosing your kitchen decorating ideas as the outcome is likely to remain with you for many years to come.